Emerges ‘no. 2’ after cabinet reshuffle
Mumbai: Chandrakant Bachchu Patil, who got Revenue department as per the late night announcement made by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday, has emerged as the “No. 2” in the state cabinet as expected.
Patil, who is respectfully called Dada – the elder brother – has thus replaced senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse – who handled the department until recently – in the cabinet. A day earlier, he replaced Khadse in the Legislative Council – where Patil was chosen as the leader of the house – the post vacated by Khadse.
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Soft spoken Patil is known for his ability to win friends. Coming from a family of a millworker, Patil joined student movement in his college days. Then he worked as an ABVP ‘full-timer’ for 13 long years before setting up his own business in Kolhapur. After working as an RSS functionary for a few years, he joined the BJP and eventually got elected to the Legislative Council from the Pune graduates constituency for the first time in 2008. In 2014 he won his second term in the council and was elevated to the post of state vice president.
Patil is given the credit for BJP’s spectacular performance in the sugar and co-operatives belt of western Maharashtra during the assembly polls in 2014. His communication skills won several promising faces for the BJP from this long time Congress bastion. After GpoinathMundePatil’s contribution in keeping together the flock of smaller allies like Athawale’s RPI (A), Jankar’s RSP and RajuShetty’sSwabhimaniShetkariSanghatana has been immense. That helped the party to gain acceptability in the social sections that always remained out of its reach.
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Another face that has gained in the reshuffle is GirishMahajan. He got the Medical Education department which was till now being handled by another heavyweight leader of the party VinodThwde. Mahajan comes from Jalgaon and had been known as Khase baiter.
Prof. Ram Shinde, who was minister of state for home (rural) has been elevated and given the charge of water conservation department. The department is entrusted with carrying out the flagship scheme of the state government – the JalYuktaShivar mission.
Shiv Sena’s Deepak Kesarkar who has been entrusted with home (rural) department’s charge as the minister of state, too can be termed as a big gainer in the cabinet rejig. Kesarkar, a staunch opponent of former chief minister Narayan Rane, comes from a Congress background, but, has won the trust of Sena leadership as well as the Chief Minister, the development indicates.
